Seedless
by viewingtheinfinite
Summary: There are no 'zombie children'; only children that become zombies.


Under the shade of a plastic slide in the local playground of the neighbourhood, Rea sat on the bench scribbled with graffiti underneath it, gently nibbling on hydrangea leaves, and listening to the wind that barely whistled past.

It was a sunny afternoon with hardly any clouds, blue sky shining down onto the world. Chihiro had been reluctant to take her out for a walk again, but they'd ended up in a playground where he was able to just sit up on the climbing frame with a zombie manga, so he was content.

She was livid with happiness, excited from the moment her bare feet touched the concrete outside. Without hesitation she would have gladly walked around with no shoes on, but Chihiro persuaded her to put the brown pumps on in order to 'blend in' with the normal, non-zombie population, and with a tight frown she eventually did as told.

Now she was objecting to him though, said brown pumps shuffled under the wooden seat below the slide, out of sight and mind. Rea was smiling to herself just being outside in the fresh air, even if she couldn't be out in the sun for too long, save her corpse of a body becoming burnt and never being able to recover from it, as it was already dead.

For further preventive measures, she had donned a hat and thin summer coat, not too thick to smother her with the heat but thin enough to protect her from the damaging rays above.

Of course, it didn't really matter if it had been thick enough to make her way too hot. It wasn't like she could even tell the temperature anymore, lest sweat.

Being a zombie blessed her with so many advantages. The fact that her controlling father thought she was dead, that gave her freedom.

Numbness to temperature meant she would never be painfully burnt, or painfully froze. She could go out in the snow naked and not feel a thing but excitement shooting through her dead veins. She could be trapped in a sauna and feel completely normal, though it wouldn't be good for her body.

In fact, a total tolerance for any kind of pain meant she would never be hurt. Physically anyway; her conscience remained intact. Feelings stayed the same. Personality was still there. Emotions.

So when the sound of children's laughter filled the silence between her and her new reserved guardian who had a fetish for zombies and zombie girls, Rea realised one disadvantage she hadn't thought of before, apart from the fact she could switch into vicious zombie-mode at probably any given time and attack said guardian without further thought.

A disadvantage that tore through her quicker than the rocks that caused the split in her side had. Something that Chihiro would never be able to remedy, regardless of any potion his crazed grandpa would maybe remember.

Rea Sanka would never be able to have children. Never be able to have biological ones, anyway. It tug on the strings of her still heart terribly, the smile on her face suddenly fading. Chihiro didn't notice, so engrossed in his book.

Abruptly as the thought had appeared to her, she heard the sound of something making gentle impact with her naked ankle, and a curious glance down confirmed the sight of a colourful ball lying against the bench a little, having hit her leg.

Blinking at it for a few moments, her train of thoughts were kept interrupted as two tiny, chubby-looking toddlers rushed to the scene, mouths open wide with shocked faces.

"Sorry!" a boy said in a genuine tone, anxiously looking at her with brows arched upwards. The girl next to him looked even more nervous, shyly grasping onto his arm, smaller in height.

Without logically thinking, Rea bent down from the bench to grasp the ball nimbly, gingerly lifting it to the height of her lap and holding it out to the boy with a little smile, leaves pushed to the side for the time being; she could eat later.

"Here," she replied, warm smile setting the friends at ease, "It's quite alright, it didn't hurt at all." The boy's brows returned to normal, and he slowly took it from her hold, smile gracing the girl's face in delight, a sparkle filling both her eyes.

"Thank-you!" the boy practically gushed, clasping it to his chest lovingly. "It's my sister's favourite ball. Do you want to play with us?" Although taken aback by the request, the sister in question nodded excitedly at Rea, desperate to play with this kind stranger they had hit in the ankle with their prized ball.

But as much as she wished to play with them, like a normal girl could play with random, cute kids in a park, she wasn't supposed to stay out in the sun for too long. Chihiro had warned that prolonged exposure would mean skin peeling.

"I wish I could," she told the children a little sadly, albeit he smile stayed on as she gathered up the leaves back onto her lap, "But I'm a little ill, see? Fragile. I have to eat these leaves to keep healthy, and I can't play out in the sun like you two."

The boy and girl alike nodded to themselves, intrigued by the leaves. Even more sadly Rea added in her head, 'and I won't ever get the chance to have nice children like you two'.

"That's sad," the boy continued with a new frown, "Can't you even throw the ball to us?" Rea shook her head, but leant forward with a wider smile on her face, crimson eyes surprisingly not startling them.

"I can't play with you today, but you can play and I'll watch you from here and help keep score, how does that sound?" Immediately the two beamed with a little gasp, and nodded again. Rea let out a slight giggle and sat back into the bench. "Go on then. I'm right here."

Twenty minutes of watching the children play passed, and Rea relished in being in the presence of such well-mannered children that she would never get to have. Chihiro didn't say a word to her, still reading and checking his watch every so often.

The boy kicked the ball around like a young expert, his sister trying to keep up with it. She fell over numerous times which elicited worried reactions from Rea, but each time her brother picked her back up and they both burst into laughter, resettling Rea's nerves.

After a while, Chihiro suddenly joined her at the bench, manga tucked away under his arm. He shot a look up at the sun that seemed near to turning blistering, and looked to the zombie girl watching the children play.

"We should set off now before it gets way too hot for your skin," he explained, knocking Rea from her focus. She spluttered a bit, but nodded in agreement.

"I understand," she simpered, as he started looking through his camera. He had been taping her the whole time whilst he read, evident by a small tripod held between his legs as he folded it up.

The children were still happily playing, unaware their new friend and watcher was a zombie. A flesh-eating, walking corpse that didn't bleed, breathe, sweat, cry and couldn't bear children in a dead, eggless womb. The realisation was still hitting her, painfully slow.

Chihiro raised an eyebrow, shifting glances, tapping her on the shoulder, "Let's go." Rea nodded again, absent to his touch, and tucked her leaves away into its compartment, in turn being put into her coat's pocket.

The two walked away from the playground without a sound, her in front, him behind with the camera filming once again. Honestly, she tired of it, but if it meant helping her keep her dead body alive, then she didn't mind that much.

The children were puzzled when they snapped out of playing to find Rea was no longer sitting under the slide, dutifully watching. The girl sulked and asked, "Where did she go?"

The boy frowned himself, ball between his hands. "I don't know," he answered truthfully, much to his sister's disappointment, "But she was pretty."

"And nice," the girl chimed in.

Indeed, Rea Sanka was both of those things. But as she settled, sitting in the middle of Chihiro's bed and looking woefully over the balcony at the happy families below, a mother was one thing she would, and could, never be, no matter who she married, if it would be Chihiro one day or not, or what treatment was available.

There was no such thing as 'zombie children'; only children who became zombies. They weren't born and it was simply impossible. And it was that disadvantage of being dead that haunted her the most.

* * *

**A/N**: Something that I believe wasn't touched upon in the series. Wanting to have children some day, I share this fear with Rea, only it's reality for her.


End file.
